The Park serves as a rehabilitation center and refuge for endangered West Indian manatees that have been orphaned or injured in the wild and also for manatees that have been born in captivity.
The natural spring environment allows them an opportunity to re-acclimate themselves to a more natural environment before they are returned to the wild.
The Park does not allow swimming with the manatees because these animals may someday be released and would lose their fear of man, placing them at a disadvantage once they are returned to the wild.
An adult manatee can stay underwater for about 20 minutes. Their habitat can range from shallow, slow moving rivers and coastal areas to the open gulf. The manatee eats aquatic plants and needs to eat 10 to 15 percent of its own body weight every day. Manatees are concentrated in Florida during the winter, but during the summer months can be found as far north as Virginia and the Carolinas and as far west as Louisiana.
The species can also be found in the coastal and inland waters of Central and South America. Female manatees reproduce at about the age of 5 to 9 years and the male manatee is mature at age 6 to 9 old. A cow will bear a calf normally every 2 to 5 years with a gestation period of 13 months. The manatee lives in warm, shallow rivers, bays, estuaries and coastal waters. they usually don't live in waters that are below 68 degrees Fahrenheit.
They are often found in the warm waters released by power plants. The clarity of the water is not important (clear or muddy). The manatee prefers water that has a depth of 1-2 meters. On the coast the water is about 3-5 meters deep and that is where they travel. They will avoid currents that are in excess of 5 kilometers. Manatees are a migrant species. People from around the world have come to Crystal River and the Homosassa area to see the manatees.
Manatees are very gentle, slow-moving, graceful swimmers. They eat aquatic plants and can consume 10-15% of their body weight daily. Manatees must come to the surface to breathe on the the average of every three to five minutes. If they are using a lot of energy, they may surface to breathe as often as every 30 seconds.
The reproductive rate for the manatee is very slow. Female manatees are not sexually mature until they are about five years old, and males not until nine years old. One calf is born every 2-5 years, birth of twins may occur but is not frequent. The gestation period is about 13 months. Manatees breed year round in Florida, however most of the calves are born in the spring and summer months. Most Amazonian manatees are born in February and May. At birth the calf measures about 4 to 4.5 ft and weighs about 60-70 pounds. The Amazonian manatee measures only about 30 inches.
A newborn calf can swim at the surface of the water by itself. The newborn is capable of vocalizing when they are born. Several hours after birth the calf begins to nurse from its mother's teat. Calves nurse under water. A few weeks after being born the infant begins to nibble on plants. The calf may stay with the mother for up to two years before going out on its own. It stays with the mother to learn survival, travel routes and warm water refuges.
Manatees have no natural enemies, and it is believed they can live 60 years or more. Many manatee mortalities are human-related. Most occur from collisions with watercraft. The loss of habitat is the most serious threat facing the manatee today. There are approximately 2,600 West Indian manatees left in the United States.
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